Country superstar Brad Paisley took the stage in Sydney Saturday night and handed a young fan a gift he’ll never forget.
Ten-year-old Joshua Vickers was in the audience at Centre 200, attending his first major concert.
During the show, Paisley signed his guitar and then handed it over to the boy, shocking Joshua and his family.
“So unexpected,” says Janet Vickers, Joshua’s mother. “He's a 10-year-old kid and he immediately picked him out of the crowd. He came over three or four times during the concert and gave him a pick at first. We thought that was the best, thinking that's what we would go home with.”
Joshua says, at first, it wasn’t clear the guitar was meant for him.
“The lady in front of me took it, so I just looked away and didn't really care, but Brad was like ‘no, no ,no it's for the kid behind you,’” says Joshua.
After the woman apologized and passed him the guitar, all eyes were on Joshua. With more than five-thousand in attendance, the attention made him a little nervous.
“Everyone was looking at me and I didn't know what to do soon as I got it.”
Paisley gave the boy a few words of encouragement.
“As soon as he gave me the guitar, he said ‘learn how to play kid,’” says Joshua.
Janet says her son hasn't put the guitar down and has spent hours on the computer trying to learn chords.
“He's been on YouTube, sitting in front of YouTube with the guitar trying to pick a few things up. Hopefully we will set up some lessons soon,” says Janet.
Joshua’s new guitar is made by Fender and, according to the family, Paisley's manager says the country artist uses it frequently during shows. The retail price is more than $1,300.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kyle Moore
